Flooring is an important consideration for any new room design or renovation. Flooring choice can completely change the feel of a room – or be a subtle enhancement to the existing interior design. Let’s take a look at current trends in flooring.
Hardwood is still a popular choice and there are so many varieties and new treatments to wood flooring to achieve really any look you want. Other popular flooring trends include concrete flooring, porcelain tile and natural stone. Below you will find a summary of each of these trends.
Bleached Wood Floors|
This is a great option of you want hardwood floors but don’t like the stain colors of traditional hardwood. Bleached wood removes the hardwood stain color on the wood and it leaves it with a softened whitewashed appearance – that also shows the natural wood grain. To do this on existing hardwood floors and can be a timely and expensive process. Another alternative is to use ready-made whitewashed laminate.
Weathered Wood Floors
Weather wood flooring has become a popular trend for homes with a rustic aesthetic. To accomplish the “worn” look a variety of techniques can be applied including hand scraping the edges of the wood and creating cut marks to give an historic feel to the wood. Then the wood is brushed to remove any sheen and achieve a weathered look. This type of flooring looks great in farmhouse style homes and homes with shabby chic or rustic decorating design.
Smoked Wood Floors
Smoked wood floors is another popular trend. The wood undergoes a process called smoke where it is put in a chamber and exposed to ammonia. The ammonia causes the tannins in the wood to come to the surface and the wood to change color. This process gives the wood a darker look and enhances the natural grain of the wood.
Patterned Wood Floors
A long embraced flooring trend using parquet – patterned wood flooring is very hot right now. Traditional patterns include herringbone and chevron but there is also a push toward more elaborate patterns with diagonal plank placement as well as using planks with different widths on the same floor. There is also a trend away from traditional, warmer reddish and orange shades to “greige” shades which is a combination of gray and beige colors.
There are also some great floor trends that are not hardwood.
Porcelain Stoneware
Porcelain stoneware is a trend that gives an expensive and sophisticated look to a room. There are a variety of different colors to choose from as well as a matte or glossy look. One potential drawback is it is cold to walk on so consider installing a heated floor for maximum enjoyment of this flooring option.
Concrete Flooring
If you are looking for a vintage feel but don’t like the look of a wood floor – concrete is another option. There are so many new options in concrete flooring. Concrete can be artificially polished to give it a worn look. It can also be stamped to give is a special architectural feel. Newer trends include adding dye to the concrete while it is being mixed gives a variety of earthy color options.
Natural Stone
Natural stone is another popular floor trend. It gives a beautiful and sophisticated look to any room. Natural stone also offers the flexibility to cut unique patterns. You can also achieve a very high end look with whole stone slabs. Keep in mind that the cost of natural stone is higher than other flooring options and it requires a high level of maintenance. So if you are looking for a low maintenance option – this may not be the best choice.
